Epoxy/urethane coating systems are widely used for weather parts of ships and offshore
structures due to its excellent resistance to UV radiation as well as corrosion protection. Recently,
epoxy/epoxy coating systems or epoxy/urethane coating systems have experienced lots of premature
coating failure such as intercoat adhesion failure during winter and spring seasons in Korea. In this
work, the root causes of premature coating failure were investigated using pH test and Fourier
transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) for several failed epoxy/urethane coating systems. We found
that coating failure was attributed to the amine blush and urea formation by the reaction of isocyanate(-
NCO) with moisture and free amine. The premature coating failure have been successfully controlled
by the use of amine adduct or amide adduct hardener and the proper control of atmosphere for coating
application in the winter and spring seasons.
Keywords: Intercoat adhesion failure, amine blush, FT-IR, epoxy/urethane coating system.